Work on £70m Dorset mental health facilities progressing
Children's & adults services are coming to Bournemouth and Sandbanks
Last updated 12th Dec 2024
Work is progressing on new facilities for mental health patients in Dorset costing £70 million.
An 8-bed psychiatric intensive care unit for children and young people is being created at Pebble Lodge in Bournemouth.
It's the first of its kind locallly and means youngsters who are seriously ill can be treated closer to home.
Facilities are also being improved at St Anne's Hospital at Sandbanks in Poole, creating more beds and ensuring all patients have their own rooms.
The new services are due to open in 2026.
To mark the progress, staff from Dorset HealthCare, the Government and construction company Kier have all signed the beams to mark completion of the buildings’ steel frames (pictured top).
Morad Margoum, the Trust’s service director for children, young people and families, mental health and learning disabilities, said:
“It’s great to see these facilities taking shape. Once complete, they will allow us to care for seriously-ill local people close to friends and family in purpose-built, modern accommodation. This will greatly reduce the need for out-of-area placements and improve people’s chances of a full recovery.”
Executive Delivery Director for the Government's New Hospitals Programme, Darren Crook CBE, said:
“It was a privilege to join our partners to mark this milestone in the construction of these new facilities, backed by more than £70 million in Government funding, which will be transformational in delivery of mental health care for patients and their families across Dorset and the wider region.”